


Spiritual, isn't it?

by paralogism



Series: Nozomi power, hai pushu! [1]
Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F, Spiritual Power, no plotholes only spiritual power, rated t for terrible jokes, seriously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-05
Updated: 2016-10-05
Packaged: 2018-08-19 16:39:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8217329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paralogism/pseuds/paralogism
Summary: In which Nozomi is literally God, Nico and Maki get together with supernatural assistance and I write gags which probably miss the mark.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Drinking game: every time a character sighs.
> 
> Kinda wanted to stretch out and write a fantasy thing for some reason. This took a while, and it's the first 'long' thing in a while that I'm okay-ish with having written.
> 
> Remember: It's all spiritual power. All of it.
> 
> Should I have just made this a 100% gag-based thing? I wanted to get a blend of serious and funny, but maybe I got the concept wrong.

Nico groggily awoke to a ceiling of sky blue. A light shone intensely from that ceiling. She was lying on a pearlescent white floor, but it wasn’t cold. It was actually quite comfortable, and had a soft, fluffy texture.

‘Ah, you’re awake, Nicocchi!’

That voice was familiar enough. ‘Nozomi.’ Nico sat up, and turned to face her friend who sat on a wooden chair beside her before asking a simple question. ‘Where on Earth am I?’

‘Hmmm. I wouldn’t really say this is a place on Earth, Nicocchi.’

The petite girl sighed. ‘It’s too early for riddles, Nozomi. Just tell me where I am.’

Nozomi hummed to herself. ‘I suppose you’d call this place Heaven, really.’

Nico never had much of a temper, but she lost it anyway. ‘Seriously, Nozomi?’ The other girl just smiled.

‘Seriously, Nico.’

The sincerity of the statement caught Nico off guard, and she began to observe her surroundings more closely.

It wasn’t a ceiling of sky blue. That was actually the sky itself. The bright light was the Sun, and it appeared slightly closer than usual. The floor, of course, was a cloud. Nozomi giggled at Nico’s bewilderment. ‘Cliché, right?’

‘You got that right,’ replied Nico, before a much bigger realization hit her. ‘No, wait! Why am I here? Why are you here, as well?’

‘Well, your consciousness is here because you’re currently in a coma in the real world. And I’m the one who brought you here, because I’m God!’ Nozomi beamed brightly. ‘Spiritual, isn’t it?’

Nico shook her head in incredulity. ‘Oh my God, you can’t be serious.’

‘I am serious. And yes, that’s me!’

The brunette groaned. Nozomi was impossible as ever. And she was apparently transcendental as well. What an awful thing to wake up to.

Nico cynically quizzed the part-time shrine maiden, ‘Do you exist up here and down there at the same time?’

‘I sure do!’ Her sparkling response in the farcical circumstances irritated Nico immensely.

‘So how, exactly, did you even become God, anyway?’

‘The spirits called to me, Nicocchi. I do have an unusual amount of energy, after all.’

‘Great explanation, Nozomi. Thanks,' replied Nico, as she continued blanching at the various absurdities surrounding her. ‘I seriously just have to accept this?’

‘Pretty much!’

Nico was developing a headache. She realized that the quickest way to get rid of it and its very annoying source was simply to get things over with, and sighed again at that fact.

‘Please don’t tell me I ended up this way because of something stupid.’

Nozomi shook her head. ‘Nah. Though it was kinda cliché as well. Y’know, speeding car ignoring the lights, you pushing Maki out of the way.’ Nozomi smiled again. ‘You were so brave, Nicocchi. I guess that’s the power of love.’ Nico blushed slightly. ‘However, I’m sure you would have done the same for the rest of us.’

Nico mumbled under her breath, ‘I sure wouldn’t have done it for you.’

Nozomi’s eyes sparkled as she made a squeezing motion with her hands, which was enough to strike abject fear into the smaller girl. ‘I’m sorry, what was that?’ She spoke so sweetly. It was almost as if she wasn't actually making a sinister threat to Nico’s precious womanhood.

Nico understood what was at stake, quickly folding her arms over her bust and swallowing her pride to save her modest chest. ‘Of course I would’ve!’ she squeaked. The clawed hands were withdrawn, and Nico inhaled in utter relief at the danger’s passing. ‘Aww, that’s so sweet, Nicocchi!’

Nico resumed her questioning after her self-preservation attempt had proven to be successful. ‘So, why exactly am I here if I’m not dead?’

‘Good question, Nicocchi. Like I said earlier, your consciousness and body have become separated because of the accident. The spirits tell me that a barrier needs to be broken before your consciousness will return to your body.’

This piqued Nico’s interest. ‘What kind of barrier?’

‘Oh, something about becoming more honest with yourself, I suppose.’

Nico closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead in frustration. ‘So vague. What does that have to do with anything, anyway?’

The spiritual girl shrugged. ‘It’s what the spirits told me, Nicocchi. It’s written in the cards as well. I’m sure you’ll know what it means when I transmute you.’

‘Trans… what?’

Nozomi’s smile turned sly. ‘You’ll see. Now, this might tingle a bit…’

* * *

 

Maki hadn’t left Nico’s side in the three days following the incident. She knew that it wasn’t her fault, but she also knew that Nico wouldn’t even have gotten like this if it weren’t for her, and that feeling struck her hard. It hurt her badly to have to see the usually vibrant Nico now lying dormant on a hospital bed, but Maki could still not be removed from her dutiful watch from her chair beside Nico.

‘You’ll wake up soon, right? Nico-chan?’ Maki didn’t receive a reply.

The doctors didn’t know exactly when Nico would wake up, and the implications of that thought terrified Maki. Nico was truly irreplaceable. Not that she had ever admitted as much to her. Maki had always regretted not being able to say what she truly meant, and knowing that she might never actually have another chance sickened her.

‘Hey, Maki-chan!’

Maki snapped away from her unpleasant thoughts. There’s no way she heard that voice from behind her just now.

‘I said hey! Maki-chan! Damnit Nozomi, does this not work after all?’

Maki turned and blankly stared at a very familiar girl standing just behind her, who looked and sounded identical to the girl lying on the hospital bed. ‘Nico-chan?’ Maki quizzed in disbelief. She was sure that she hallucinated the reply.

‘Heya, Maki-chan. Are you okay?’

 _I’m totally okay_ , Maki thought to herself, _except for the fact that I’m seeing ghosts._ The red-haired girl promptly fainted, her head striking against the bed with a thud.

\-------

Maki awoke with a pain in her neck. It seemed that she had slept in an unnatural position. Still, she was relieved. At least there weren’t any ghosts attempting to talk with her. Nico was still lying in front of her, so last night was probably just exhaustion and anxiety getting to her.

‘Ah, you’re awake. Please don’t faint again. That’d be bad.’ So much for those thoughts. Maki turned around and managed to keep her consciousness, before asking a question of the person who looked and sounded too familiar to be true.

‘Who are you?’

The familiar girl laughed. ‘That’s cold, Maki-chan. There’s no way you could forget me, Nico-Nico-Nii!’

Maki shook her head in anger. ‘Nico-chan is lying on that hospital bed, and she isn’t doing very well. I’ll ask again, who are you?’

The familiar girl sighed at that. ‘It’s a long story involving Nozomi, spiritual power and Go- I mean, who knows what else. But I can assure you, I’m Nico.’

Maki stared at the purported Nico for a long while, causing the shorter girl to fidget. ‘Okay then. Tell me something about me that only Nico-chan would know, you doppelganger.’

Nico paused for a moment, then replied nonchalantly. ‘Monday, red and white polka dots. Tuesday, light yellow with cute frills. Wednesday, sky blue with-‘

‘Okay, stop!’ The redhead was shaking with embarrassment. ‘Firstly, that’s awful; knowing my rotation. Secondly, that doesn’t prove anything except that you’re a pervert with access to our changing room. Try something else.’

Nico hummed, thinking to herself before inspiration hit. ‘Okay, I got it. When I called you out that night we all discussed the second Love Live together, it was because I wanted to show you the awesome lyrics I had written.’

Maki scoffed. ‘They were awful, and you know it.’ Her scoff soon turned into a sigh of her own. ‘But, that is true enough. I guess you’re not a doppelganger after all, Nico-chan.’ The older girl nearly celebrated, but was quickly cut off. ‘You’re just a figment of my imagination, then.’

Nico was exasperated. One of the usual side effects of dealing with Maki. ‘Oh, come on. You can see me, right?’

‘Yeah. Why?’

‘I walked around earlier while you were passed out, but it seems like no-one else can see or hear me. I wonder what that means?’

‘It probably just means that I’m going crazy.’ Maki placed a hand to her forehead. ‘What a terrible person to lose my sanity over.’

Nico grinned. ‘That just means that you’re madly in love with Nico, doesn’t it?’ The redhead scoffed again, but there was a blush on her cheeks this time. ‘Yeah, right.’

An idea suddenly struck the red-haired girl. Maki stood up and carefully moved alongside the Nico lying on the hospital bed. ‘Maki-chan, what are you doing?’

The redhead gave an indifferent reply of ‘Payback,’ before peeling back the blankets placed atop the petite girl. She exposed the area just below Nico’s white hospital gown, before carefully lifting its hem.

‘Oh my God, stop that you pervert!’ Nico squealed in horror. Maki just shrugged her shoulders in response. ‘You’re the pervert, Nico-chan. You know mine apparently, so fair’s fair.’

The door to the hospital room slammed open. An energetic, ginger-haired girl bounced through. ‘Hi, Maki-chan! We’re all here to check up on Ni...’ Honoka and Maki both froze, the red-haired girl being in the middle of flipping the unconscious Nico’s gown. The rest of μ’s simply stared in confusion, save for the Nico not lying on the hospital bed, who was shrieking wildly with no one save for Maki noticing.

A protracted silence formed. It was Umi who summoned all her bravery to break it. ‘Maki. What… what are you doing?’ Maki took a deep breath. She thought quickly before settling on an appropriate answer.

‘I’m just checking on Nico-chan. It’s that time of month for her, and you still get them when even when you’re in a coma.’

The other girls sighed in relief (except for Nico, who began screaming abuse at Maki). Honoka hugged Maki tightly. ‘You’re so thoughtful, Maki-chan!’

Rin also piled onto the redhead. ‘As expected of Maki-chan, nya!’

Maki silently thanked her parents for access to their medical books for that piece of trivia.

Hanayo timidly suggested that this was a hospital, and that they should all quiet down a little. Umi backed that suggestion, before Kotori smiled and held Umi’s hand, which quieted her complaints instantly. Nozomi gave a soft chuckle. ‘Pink really does suit Nicocchi.’ Eli gave her a soft punch to the shoulder, but was trying to stifle her own laughter in the process. Nico gave them a vulgar hand symbol from her spot next to her other self, which again went unnoticed.

Eli eventually managed to stop giggling, and gently placed her arm around the red-haired girl. ‘Are you okay, Maki? We know you’ve had it rough.’

Maki glanced at the Nico who was now quietly observing her from the corner of the room. She gave a faint, but unmistakable grin. ‘Yeah. I’m fine now.’

Maki’s changed mood was not lost upon the others, who all took turns in affectionately petting her. Satisfied that Maki was now in a good state, they decided to continue giving her the contemplation time she needed. Before they left, however, Umi had a question.

‘Nozomi, is something wrong? You’ve been focusing on something else for a while now.’

The purple-haired girl gave her signature soft smile. ‘No, it’s nothing.’

\-------

‘That was awful.’ Nico slumped into the chair beside the bed and buried her head in her hands. Maki gave her an almost sympathetic response.

‘It was, but you deserved it.’ Nico forlornly shook her head. ‘Everyone’s seen Nico-Nii’s underwear. Nozomi’s never going to let me live this down, and she always brings these things up at the worst possible moments.’ She closed her eyes and rolled her head back against the top of the chair. ‘Now I can never get married.’

‘If that were true, that makes two of us. Seriously, how do you know what I wear every week?’

Nico panicked. ‘Ummmm… Oh! Nico always looks out for her juniors, even when they’re changing?’

‘That would just make you a pervert who’s into younger girls, Nico-chan.’

Nico snapped at the flippant redhead, ‘Fine! Nico only looks out for Maki-chan all the time, because she’s a princess with an amazingly nice body. Happy?’

Maki turned her head away from Nico to hide her embarrassment. ‘Okay, that’s genuinely perverted, Nico-chan.’ Still, something about Nico’s statement gave Maki a nagging thought. She tried to hide her nervousness in asking, ‘Is… is that all you like about me, Nico-chan?’

‘Of course not,’ Nico quickly declared, ‘I like lots of things about Maki-chan.’ Nico’s voice softened as she continued, ‘You know Maki-chan, someone told me that I should be more honest with myself, so I’ll start now. Even if I’ve never said it, I really do like Maki-chan a lot. I hope I didn’t worry you too badly earlier.’

Maki felt her breath hitch. ‘You… you like me, Nico-chan?’

Nico gave a serious nod. ‘A lot, yeah.’

‘As in…’

‘Yes, that kind of like. Wow, this is embarrassing.’

There was a pause as Maki absorbed the information. The circumstances weren’t particularly credible, being confessed to by a Schrodinger-esque person: alive and dead (well, comatose) at the same time. But, it was too genuine and honest for her not to respond like she always wanted to. She took a deep breath.

‘I like you too, Nico-chan. Even if I say the stupid things that I do sometimes.’

Nico stared deeply into those light purple eyes. Mesmerizing as ever, she noted. ‘Really?’

‘Yeah. I was really worried about you. So please… don’t hurt yourself again over me.’

A giggle escaped Nico’s mouth. ‘There’s no way I can promise that. I like you, after all.’

They shared a long moment together before Maki eventually decided to end the comfortable silence.

‘So, uh… don’t we kiss now?’

The other girl gave an eye-roll. ‘Real smooth, Maki-chan.’

Maki snapped back, ‘Oh come on, it’s not like you’ve ever kissed before either.’ A sudden thought forced Maki to pause. ‘You haven't, have you?’

Nico quickly shook her head. ‘Of course not. Nozomi tried once as a joke, but I kinda punched her.’ Maki couldn’t supress a laugh before Nico continued. ‘However, I’m pretty sure it’s not possible to kiss someone who’s slightly incorporeal.’

‘Oh. Right. I nearly forgot. How are you like this, exactly?’

Nico sighed yet again. ‘Like I said, it’s a long story. You really would think that you were crazy if you heard it now, so let’s leave it for when I get back properly.’

That was enough to placate the redhead. She would wait forever if she had to.

A smirk became etched on Nico’s lips. ‘You’ll also get Nico-Nii’s super amazing kiss when I get back, okay? I know you’re desperate and everything, but it’d be better having an actual proper body after all.’ Maki gave a mocking pout, but smiled regardless.

‘Don’t make me wait too long, okay?’ The reply was earnest. ‘I’ll be right back. I promise.’

\-------

‘So…’ Nico questioned the purple-haired girl after being returned to the familiar, yet still surreal scenery. ‘What exactly is a “NicoMaki confirmed party” and why am I having one with you right now?’

‘It’s a celebration of you getting together, obviously! It’s good that you were honest with yourself, and Maki as well.’ Nico shrugged, but this was to cover how happy she truly felt.

‘I had to be, right? To break the barrier or whatever?’

Nozomi laughed. ‘Don’t be silly, Nicocchi. I could’ve restored you any time; I’m God after all! This was just too good an opportunity to miss.’

‘Goddamnit!’

‘Yes, that’s me!’

Nico gagged and pulled a sour face. ‘You know, is this even Heaven? This whole thing has been more like punishment, after all.’

Nozomi clutched at her chest as if she had been struck by an arrow. ‘You’re so harsh sometimes, Nicocchi.’ She smiled, however. ‘I did have my fun, though.’ ‘I figured…’

They shared a quiet moment before Nozomi clapped her hands and began to wave her arms around, claiming that she was channeling some ancient powers.

‘Okay, time for you to be restored for real this time. Don’t go too fast with Maki-chan, alright? You’re still recovering, after all.’

Nico groaned. ‘I’ll let that slide.’ She still paused to say something she never thought possible. ‘Thanks for everything, Nozomi.’ There was a shimmer in Nozomi’s eyes. ‘You’re very welcome, Nicocchi.’

\-------

Nico awoke to an unfamiliar, pure white ceiling. The lights on that ceiling were off as ambient radiance streamed through the open blinds beside her bed. An unmistakable, red-haired girl was sitting next to her, watching her with a fond smile.

‘Do you remember your promise, Nico-chan?’

Nico gingerly sat herself up. ‘Yeah.’ She leant towards the other girl, who had her eyes closed and lips waiting. ‘I remember.’

**Author's Note:**

> I completely missed, didn't I? Ah well. I'll review and see what went wrong when I can do so a bit more objectively.
> 
> Back to the drawing board...


End file.
